Written Answers Tuesday 27 July 2010

Scottish Executive

Drug Misuse

Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it expects NHS boards to meet the first HEAT targets on drugs rehabilitation referrals by December 2010 and what sanctions will be laid against boards that fail to meet these targets

Fergus Ewing: All NHS boards have assured us that they are on track to achieve their interim performance indicators by December 2010. The HEAT target for reducing waiting times to drug treatment is to be achieved by March 2013.

  Prior to agreeing the HEAT target for reducing waiting times to drug treatment, Scottish Government officials consulted with all NHS boards to ensure that the target was realistic and achievable. In March 2010, every NHS board submitted local delivery plans to the Scottish Government outlining plans for delivery of the performance indicators.

  As part of the overall drug and alcohol HEAT project, an improvement support programme is being developed to proactively support NHS boards achieve the target. As part of an annual review process, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing and the Minister for Public Health and Sport hold NHS boards to account for the services they deliver. This involves meetings with each board which are held in public and at which any performance issues are raised as appropriate. Any follow-up action required as a result is formally recorded and subsequently monitored.

Drug Misuse

Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many meetings have taken place between ministers and representatives of NHS boards to discuss the national strategy on drugs rehabilitation since May 2009

Fergus Ewing: As Minister for Community Safety with the remit for drugs rehabilitation and the national strategy, The Road to Recovery , I communicate to NHS boards through the mechanism of the joint partnerships of alcohol and drug partnerships. I have discussed the national drugs strategy, The Road to Recovery,  with 11 alcohol and drug partnerships, as referred to in the following table, since May 2009 and there was a NHS board representative at all these meetings. This engagement is continuing through the summer period.

  

East Ayrshire 
25 January 2010


Lanarkshire 
10 March 2010


West Dunbartonshire
15 March 2010 


Glasgow City 
22 March 2010


North Ayrshire 
12 April 2010


Moray 
26 April 2010


Aberdeen City 
7 June 2010


Argyll and Bute
28 June 2010


Aberdeenshire
7 June 2010


Mid and East Lothian 
6 July 2010


Highland
23 July 2010



  In November 2009, my colleague Shona Robison MSP, Minister for Public Health and Sport, and I also met the alcohol and drug partnership chairs and NHS strategic leads for each NHS board.

Drug Misuse

Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many meetings took place between ministers and representatives of NHS boards to discuss the subject of drugs rehabilitation in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, (c) 2007-08 and (d) 2008-09

Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government does not hold information centrally relating to meetings between all ministers and representatives of NHS boards to discuss the subject of drugs rehabilitation for 2005-06 and 2006-07.

  As Minister for Community Safety with remit for drugs rehabilitation and the national drugs strategy, The Road to Recovery, I communicate to NHS boards through the mechanism of the joint partnerships of alcohol and drug partnerships, previously known as alcohol and drug action teams (ADATs). I met with all ADAT Chairs once in 2007-08 and twice in 2008-09 and also conducted a Road to Recovery Autumn tour, which involved representatives from NHS boards, in the areas following during 2008-09:

  

Aberdeen 
 4 November 2008


Angus 
 28 October 2008


Ayrshire 
 15 October 2008


Dundee 
 18 November 2008


Edinburgh 
 12 November 2008


Forth Valley 
 11 November 2008


Glasgow 
 9 December 2008


Highland 
 5 December 2008


Lanarkshire 
 21 October 2008


West Dunbartonshire 
 25 November 2008

Drug and Alcohol Misuse

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current waiting time is for (a) drug and (b) alcohol treatment, broken down by NHS board

Fergus Ewing: Waiting times information for drug treatment, broken down by NHS board is available on the ISD website and can be found at:

  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/5962.html.

  Waiting times information for alcohol treatment, broken down by NHS board is not held centrally.

Economy

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what it considers the net borrowing of the United Kingdom should be in 2015, expressed as a percentage of GDP

John Swinney: The Scottish Government believes that UK public sector net borrowing should be returned to a sustainable level at the earliest opportunity. The management of the public finances by the previous UK Government means that a substantial period of fiscal adjustment is now unavoidable. This adjustment should be achieved by promoting economic growth which will increase tax receipts and reduce welfare spending. In contrast, the austerity measures proposed by the new UK Government risk undermining the recovery and doing further damage to the public finances by cutting public spending too fast and too deeply. This emphasises the urgent need for the Scottish Government to acquire significantly greater fiscal responsibilities, to ensure the planned fiscal consolidation does not damage Scotland’s economic recovery.

Enterprise

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many inward investors have located in Scotland in each year since 2005

Jim Mather: Of the 306 inward investment projects recorded by Scottish Development International between 1 April 2005 and 31 March 2010, 98 were new projects from first-time inward investors. They are broken down by year as follows.

  Number of New Projects by New Inward Investors

  

Year
 


2005-06
15


2006-07
15


2007-08
22


2008-09
15


2009-10
31


Total
98

Enterprise

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many contacts Scottish Development International has had with potential investors in each year since 2005

Jim Mather: Scottish Development International (SDI) does not have a record of the number of individual contacts it makes with each potential investor. However, the number of companies which were considered prospective first time inward investors in each year from 2005-06 until 2009-10 is given in the following table.

  This table shows the number of companies contacted by SDI staff which, at the point the contact was made, did not have a presence in Scotland. These contacts include a combination of specifically targeted face to face meetings, telephone calls, letters and emails. They do not include contacts made through mailshots or telemarketing.

  Number of Companies Contacted

  

Year
 


2005-06
92


2006-07
137


2007-08
192


2008-09
254


2009-10
164


Total
839



  Some companies may be recorded in more than one year. Additionally, some large companies with particularly diverse portfolios may be recorded more than once in any given year as different divisions of the same organisation may have been contacted.

Finance

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the legal status of the Scottish Investment Bank is and with what regulatory bodies is it registered

Jim Mather: The Scottish Investment Bank Ltd has been incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Scottish Enterprise. As initially constituted, the Scottish Investment Bank would not need to be registered with any regulatory bodies. We are, however, keeping this under review as the work to develop it progresses.

Finance

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many full-time equivalent employees of the Scottish Investment Bank there were as of 1 July 2010

Jim Mather: The Scottish Investment Bank has no full-time equivalent employees as of 1 July 2010. The Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise have formed a joint project team to develop the Scottish Investment Bank which has until now been concentrating on the development of a new loan fund. The longer term staffing arrangements for the Scottish Investment Bank have yet to be determined

Finance

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what grants and loans have been made by the Scottish Investment Bank

Jim Mather: There have never been any plans for the Scottish Investment Bank to deliver grants but we are working to have a new loan fund open for business by the end of this year. In the meantime, Scottish Enterprise continues to make investments in innovative, high growth potential Scottish companies through its existing equity-based funds which will also form part of the Scottish Investment Bank.

Further and Higher Education

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider encouraging higher and further education institutions to examine what savings can be made through mergers with neighbouring institutions

Keith Brown: Ministers will continue to encourage institutions to look critically at the scope for efficiencies and other savings, whether through collaboration or merger or in other ways. Ministers engage closely with colleges and have a keen interest in all such initiatives. Their engagement with colleges sits alongside the statutory responsibility of the Scottish Funding Council for the delivery of a coherent system of higher and further education. Like all other non-departmental public bodies, the funding council is expected to secure the best value from the resources at its disposal.

Non-Departmental Public Bodies

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what non-departmental public bodies have been wound up in the last 12 months and which of its directorates is responsible in each case

John Swinney: The Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen, both of which were sponsored by the Culture, External Affairs and Tourism Directorate, were wound up on 1 July 2010. A further six bodies will be wound up on 1 August 2010. These are the Advisory Committee on Sites of Special Scientific Interest and the Deer Commission (both sponsored by the Rural and Environment Directorate); the Building Standards Advisory Committee (Built Environment Directorate); the Historic Environment Advisory Council (Historic Scotland); the Scottish Industrial Development Board (Business Directorate) and the Scottish Records Advisory Council (Culture, External Affairs and Tourism Directorate).

  Further information about public bodies which have been wound up or merged as part of the government’s on-going simplification programme is available at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/public-bodies/simplification-programme/SimplificationTracker.

Non-Domestic Rates

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the raw data on the 2010 non-domestic rates revaluation, including information on the proportion of businesses that have seen their rates increase or decrease and by how much

John Swinney: All raw data showing valuations of individual properties following the 2010 business rates revaluation has been available since 10 February 2010 on the Scottish Assessors Association website and can be found at www.saa.gov.uk .

  In addition the Scottish Government published a report on 14 May 2010 which provided information on the proportion of businesses which saw their rates increase or decrease. That report shows that following the 2010 revaluation almost 60% of ratepayers saw bills fall or remain the same and that the average saving was over £1,300 in 2010-11. That figure of 60% is before the impact of reliefs and appeals, both of which will lower bills further. The report can be found at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/917/0098553.pdf.

Prison Service

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many assaults by prisoners on prison officers have been recorded in each (a) prison and (b) young offender’s institution since 22 April 2009.

The Executive has supplied the following corrected answer:

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  The following table illustrates the total number of prisoner on staff assaults broken down by establishment, included are serious, minor and non injury assaults. The data is accurate as of 14 June 2010.

  Prisoner on Staff Assaults 22 April 2009 to date

  

Aberdeen
11


Addiewell
49


Barlinnie
23


Cornton Vale
38


Dumfries
0


Edinburgh
16


Glenochil 
3


Greenock
4


Inverness
1


Kilmarnock
11


Open Estate
0


Perth
12


Peterhead
0


Polmont
17


Shotts
6

Procurement

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-34472 by John Swinney on 22 June 2010, whether it plans to hold a central list of the contracts that it has entered into

John Swinney: The Scottish Government has recently started to collate a central lists of its contracts. This work is expected to be complete by the end of the year.

  Question S3W-34472 refers to contracts that make specific reference to compliance with the national minimum wage. The central list of contracts will not capture information on this level of detail.

Procurement

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-34472 by John Swinney on 22 June 2010, how it monitors contracts that it enters into to ensure that they contain a minimum wage clause

John Swinney: Compliance with the national minimum wage is a legal obligation on employers. In the majority of cases there is no need to include a contract clause which refers to this aspect of UK employment law. We do not, therefore, monitor this issue.

Procurement

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-34472 by John Swinney on 22 June 2010, in what circumstances it would enter into a contract that does not contain a minimum wage clause.

John Swinney: For most contracts, there is no need to include clauses requiring a contractor to comply with legal obligations that govern the conduct of its business. In some cases, the purchaser may decide to apply such clauses to address particular concerns regarding compliance in relation to the type of product or service being bought.

Rail Services

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact it considers that the decision by the UK Government to support proposals to implement the new east coast main line service in May 2011 will have on rail travellers in Scotland

Stewart Stevenson: The introduction of the SLC2 timetable on the east coast main line in May 2011 will affect the overall pattern of rail service provision within Scotland. We already know that the 13 daily direct services between Glasgow Central and London King’s Cross will be reduced to only two per day.

  We are working with the rail industry to identify where any further gaps in services may occur and are continuing to make representations to the Department for Transport on this issue.

Respite Care

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there will be Barnett consequentials arising from the £20 million announced for expanding respite care for disabled children in England.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government may be entitled to consequentials from the UK in respect of the announcement for expanding respite care for disabled children in England in the 2010 Budget depending upon how this is dealt with in the Comprehensive Spending Review. Any consequentials will be contained within the overall Comprehensive Spending Review Settlement 2010 which is due for publication on 20 October 2010.

  It is the responsibility of Scottish ministers to decide how additional consequential funding should be allocated and the Scottish Government will be looking at all budgets as part of its own spending review process.

Schools

Jim Hume (South of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make a statement on primary school standards

Michael Russell: We currently have no plans to make a statement on primary school standards.

Schools

Jim Hume (South of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make a statement on secondary school standards

Michael Russell: We currently have no plans to make a statement on secondary school standards.

Taxation

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it holds information on how much corporation tax is generated in Scotland, broken down by local authority area or region

Jim Mather: Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland estimates that onshore and offshore corporation tax collectively generated £12.2 billion in Scotland during 2008-09, based on an illustrative geographical share of North Sea revenue. Estimates by local authority area and region are not available.

Water Fluoridation

Mr Frank McAveety (Glasgow Shettleston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to consider water fluoridation

Shona Robison: There are currently no plans to fluoridate the public water supply. The Water (Fluoridation) Act 1985 places the onus on NHS boards, based on local consultations and full support of the general public, to apply to Scottish Water if they wish to introduce a fluoridation scheme. The majority of people that responded to a 2002 consultation document were against the idea.

  The Scottish Government is committed to improving oral health, particularly in children, and widening access to NHS dentistry. On 20 March 2007, the Scottish Government launched the roll out of the school based dental service Childsmile School targeting the most deprived areas of Scotland. Recent statistics have also shown a rise in the number of NHS dentists and an increase in the number of patients, including children, registered with an NHS dentist. For example, we have met the 2008-09 dental HEAT target that 80% of all three to five-year-old children to be registered with an NHS dentist by 2010-11. In the period ending March 2008 the registration percentage of three to five-year-olds was 77.3%. This rose to 84.4% in the quarter ending March 2009.And one of the Scottish targets set for the year 2010 was that 60% of P7 children should be free of obvious dental decay experience. The recently published National Dental Inspection Programme report (2009) shows that the 63.6% P7 children in NHS boards across Scotland showed no signs of obvious decay experience in their permanent teeth.